Question: Several of Vanessa's friends wanted to try the candy bars she brought back from her trip, but there were only 9 candy bars. Vanessa decided to cut the candy bars into pieces so that each person could have $\frac{3}{8}$ of a candy bar. After cutting up the candy bars, how many friends could Vanessa share her candy with?
Explanation: We can divide the number of candy bars ( $9$ ) by the amount Vanessa gave to each person ( $\frac{3}{8}$ of a bar) to find out how many people she could share with. $ \dfrac{{9 \text{ candy bars}}} {{\dfrac{3}{8} \text{ bar per person}}} = {\text{ total people}} $ Dividing by a fraction is the same as multiplying by the reciprocal. The reciprocal of $\dfrac{3}{8} \text{ bar per person}$ is ${\dfrac{8}{3} \text{ people per bar}}$ $ {9\text{ candy bars}} \times {\dfrac{8}{3} \text{ people per bar}} = {\text{total people}} $ ${\dfrac{72}{3}\text{ people}} = 24\text{ people}$ By cutting up the candy bars, Vanessa could share her candy with 24 of her friends.